Bears' Gould delivers again--for foster kids

Kicker comes through with a special return

On Sunday afternoon, with the Soldier Field crowd in a frenzy, Bears kicker Robbie Gould split the uprights with a 25-yard field goal to nip Tampa Bay in overtime.

And then he went to work.

"Robbie wrapped the gifts, wrote out all the name tags, picked up the food. ... He did everything," his Gurnee neighbor Stacy Long said Tuesday at a Christmas party thrown for 34 star-struck foster boys at the Kids Hope United campus in north suburban Lake Villa.

"I told him, `Robbie, I can come over and help wrap,'" said Long, who helped Gould organize the event. "But he told me, `Nope, I have Monday off. I can do it.'"

With last week's arrest of Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson on weapons charges followed by the slaying of his best friend at a Chicago nightclub, the NFC Central champions are swimming in a sea of negative publicity.

Meanwhile, Gould's week has gone from the low point of a missed field goal earlier in Sunday's overtime to the eventual game-winner and his first Pro Bowl selection on Tuesday. The positive vibes continued with his visit to Kids Hope United.

"At a time when there's so much controversy surrounding the NFL and NBA and professional athletes, it's nice seeing a young man with the character of Robbie Gould," said Jimmie H. Smith, executive director of the non-profit child-welfare agency.

In addition to offering an array of services to more than 3,000 foster children and parents throughout Chicagoland and southern Wisconsin, Kids Hope United's campus is also home to 18 youths, ages 12 to 18, who are victims of abuse or neglect.

Sixteen other boys attend a day treatment program held on-site.

Last fall, Gould, 24, was among a group of Bears players who visited the campus, making such an impact that many of the boys requested Bears caps and jerseys as Christmas gifts through the facility's Holiday Giving program.

In turn, Gould decided to return this year.

In addition to a catered lunch of pasta and salad, Gould, accompanied by teammate Antonio Garay, gave each boy a pair of Nike shoes, an orange-and-blue backpack emblazoned with "GOULD 9" and a stocking cap.

With money raised by Woodland School District 3rd graders and donated by local businesses and Bears Care, the kicker also was able to buy a Ping-Pong table, two Xbox 360 consoles and several video games for the boys.

"Amazing," said Brandon, 17, who lives on campus. "I was just playing an Xbox last night at the game store and thought, `Man, I'd like to have one of those.'

"My eyes are about falling out of my head."

Gould, whose family took two foster children into their home during his youth in Pennsylvania, called the facility's cause "something that's close to my heart," and on Tuesday he made the boys there a promise.

"On Sunday, hopefully, we'll get some field-goal attempts," he said about this weekend's game in Detroit. "The first one is going to be for you guys."